Turn my 'frig on its side ? - Page 4

jjackstone · 05-04-09, 11:17 PM

Has your local ambient temperature increased recently? I can see more electricity usage on our fridge with as little as a five degree increase in ambient. I've been tracking for a couple years now.
JJ

wyatt · 05-05-09, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiHaoMike

Make sure you're not blocking any vents.

I agree with Mike. If you are insulating over vents or over the heat rejection coils the fridge may be running extra long to reject the heat, and actually wind up pushing heat into the fridge instead of out of the fridge. This is why people had said to insulate the inside walls of the fridge with the exception of around the cooling line, because it will increase the amount of insulation between the cold and the hot. You can insulate the outside, but make sure to not block vents or cover where the coils are.

Homeless · 06-09-09, 06:57 PM

I haven't posted in a while. Nothing new to post though.
Currently, I am running the frig with only foam underneath, and attached to the doors. ( 1.5 " of white packaging styrofoam )
The sides and back of the frig are same as stock.
Currently, my readings are between 234 and 240 kWh ( per year - or less than .70 Wh per day )
( It's hot and humid here now.)
The readings fluctuate so much that I wonder if I am doing the testing right.
What is the best way to test a frig for its power consumption ? Since the frig has a set number of cycles per hour, plugging in the Kill-A-Watt just as the frig kicks on, or just after the cycle has finished seems as though it would skew the testing for that first hour.
To compensate, I have been subtracting the data from the first hour from my tests so far.

Is traditional packing foam ( the white sheets of styrofoam ) an inferior type of material to insulate with ? As mentioned above, it seemed to do nothing. No vents were covered ( there are none ). As far as a heat rejection coil ... perhaps I was covering that up. If it is located inside the walls of the frig, then yes, I was indeed covering them.

I'm still very confused about what you all mean when you say insulate the inside of the frig. Do you mean put foam inside of the frig ?
Surely not !
This would not only cram the interior space even worse than it already is, but it would be messy, leaving little styrofoam 'crumbs' all in my food. ( And the toxic favor as well ! )
I'm thinking you mean the inside walls of the frig. This would mean prying open the walls and probably breaking something in the process.
It would be interesting though !

I'm already finding that I need more than 3.1 Cu. Ft. of space. I am now reconsidering a true chest freezer modificatuion.

I will create a new post for that though.

05-04-09, 11:17 PM	#31 (permalink)
jjackstone Lurking Renovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Sacramento,Ca Posts: 6	Has your local ambient temperature increased recently? I can see more electricity usage on our fridge with as little as a five degree increase in ambient. I've been tracking for a couple years now. JJ (Support EcoRenovator.org & get rid of these annoying ads!)

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06-09-09, 06:57 PM	#33 (permalink)
Homeless Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 41	I haven't posted in a while. Nothing new to post though. Currently, I am running the frig with only foam underneath, and attached to the doors. ( 1.5 " of white packaging styrofoam ) The sides and back of the frig are same as stock. Currently, my readings are between 234 and 240 kWh ( per year - or less than .70 Wh per day ) ( It's hot and humid here now.) The readings fluctuate so much that I wonder if I am doing the testing right. What is the best way to test a frig for its power consumption ? Since the frig has a set number of cycles per hour, plugging in the Kill-A-Watt just as the frig kicks on, or just after the cycle has finished seems as though it would skew the testing for that first hour. To compensate, I have been subtracting the data from the first hour from my tests so far. Is traditional packing foam ( the white sheets of styrofoam ) an inferior type of material to insulate with ? As mentioned above, it seemed to do nothing. No vents were covered ( there are none ). As far as a heat rejection coil ... perhaps I was covering that up. If it is located inside the walls of the frig, then yes, I was indeed covering them. I'm still very confused about what you all mean when you say insulate the inside of the frig. Do you mean put foam inside of the frig ? Surely not ! This would not only cram the interior space even worse than it already is, but it would be messy, leaving little styrofoam 'crumbs' all in my food. ( And the toxic favor as well ! ) I'm thinking you mean the inside walls of the frig. This would mean prying open the walls and probably breaking something in the process. It would be interesting though ! I'm already finding that I need more than 3.1 Cu. Ft. of space. I am now reconsidering a true chest freezer modificatuion. I will create a new post for that though.